The present invention relates to the field of electronic malfunction monitoring and diagnosis. It finds particular application in conjunction with computerized tomographic scanners and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the invention may also find application in conjunction with other imaging apparatus, other medical electronic equipment, and the like.
Heretofore, various malfunction indicators have been provided for CT scanners. Most commonly, an LED was interconnected with each of various electronic components of the scanner. Each LED was illuminated or dark in accordance with the state of the associated electronics. However, a malfunction in a CT scanner often triggered subsequent malfunctions. The illuminated diodes only reflected the state of the monitored electronics at the end of the series of malfunctions. No indication was provided of the malfunction which triggered the sequence of malfunction events.
To improve diagnostic capability, a plug-in diagnostic system has also been provided. Rather than or in addition to the LEDs, the service technician was provided with a plug-in diagnostic module. The plug-in module monitored the state of a plurality of monitored electronic circuits and provided an indication of the state thereof. A plug-in module carried by the service technician, however, was only effective when monitoring for impending maintenance problems and for analyzing a system malfunction after the fact. Again, when a malfunction sequence occurred, no indication of the initial, triggering malfunction was provided.
In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved distributed diagnostic system is provided for CT scanners which overcomes the above identified drawbacks and provides more meaningful service information.